"He's a really great player," Doug McDermott said, "but we did a good job of locking him down. Our main focus was Crabbe and (Justin) Cobbs. We got them frustrated early."

Cal (6-3) shot a season-low 34.6 percent, which included starting the game 1 for 12 and starting the second half 0 for 8. Ultimately, it was too much to overcome.

The loss was the third straight for the Bears on the heels of defeats to Wisconsin and UNLV, and guarantees they will enter Pac-12 play next month without a marquee victory. Cal returns to action Tuesday at home against UC Santa Barbara.

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"We're not good enough yet," Cal coach Mike Montgomery said. "I told the team I want to know what it is we can do better? What can I do to help you? I thought once we got involved, we were competing."

Doug McDermott, a 6-foot-8 junior forward, was as good as advertised. Fifteen NBA scouts and front-office personnel were credentialed for the game, including Warriors general manager Bob Myers. They saw McDermott shoot 10 for 17 and grab nine rebounds against four or five different Cal defenders.

"He doesn't make a lot of mistakes, doesn't miss a lot of shots," Montgomery said. "He's a hard matchup. He makes free throws, he makes 3s. He's a really good player."

The Bluejays (10-1) of the Missouri Valley Conference never trailed to the disappointment of a crowd that also included school scoring king Jerome Randle and former coach Lou Campanelli.

Cobbs led the Bears with 18 points and seven assists, but he did not play the final 23 seconds after hitting his head after a hard drive to the basket. Montgomery said he believes Cobbs is OK.

Tyrone Wallace came off the bench to contribute eight points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots before fouling out. Ricky Kreklow, who had missed six of Cal's first eight games with a foot injury, played 15 minutes and took a turn defending McDermott.

Montgomery said Kreklow saw another doctor this week who suggested his injury may not heal as fast as he plays, but probably wouldn't get worse.

Crabbe shouldered responsibility for Saturday's outcome.

"I took some questionable shots that hurt my team," he said. "I thought I was going to get into a rhythm at some point in the game. I just didn't."

Montgomery credited Creighton for doing a nice job on Crabbe, especially coming off screens. But he said the Bears must be more diverse.

"We've kind of got to get over the idea that he's the only guy who can score," Montgomery said. "We've got to get other people involved."